Method of making phonograph-records.



J. W. AYLSWORTH.

MTHOD OF MAKING FHONOGRAPH RECORDS.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 8.1911.

1,230,816. Patented June 19, 1917.

7 ed, a method is described of forming the UNITED sTATEsP r-ENT OFFICE.

ONAS w.- AYLSWORTH, 0E EAsr ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNQR, IBYQMESNE ASSIQN- j MENTS, TO NEW JERSEY PATENT COMPANY, 0E w s'r ORANGE, ivnw JERSEY, A

CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD OE MAKING rnonoannrn-nnconns.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it-known that I, JONAS W. Arnswon'rn,

.acitizen of the United States, and a resident of East Orange, in the county of Essexand ,State of New. Jersey, have made a certain surface layer of extremely hard material,

such as the condensation products which form the subject matter of applications, Se-

rial Numbers 196,060, 543,238 and 604,982,

upon which United States Patents Nos.

1,102,630, 1,020,593 and 1,046,137 have been' granted respectively. Hard phenolic condensation products are difiicult to mold by themethod of hardening in the mold, and

they require considerable time forthe operation. The present invention seeks to pro-.1 duce a phonograph record comprising the valuable properties of such products without the difficulties heretofore encountered. In a previous application, Serial No. 543,236,

filed February 11, 1910, upon which United StatesPatent No. 1,146,388 has been grantsound record after the material has been hardened, in'which case the composition is designed to be somewhat plastic when hot.

- The present method is an mprovement over the method therein disclosed in severalimportant particulars. In pressing a substance which is plastic when hot, unless a high degree of lasticitylis obtainable in the composition, t ere is difiiculty in getting the impressioniperfectly all over the record, especially if it be a disk of considerable diameter. These difl'iculties are due to unevenness of the mold, which'may be'only in spots, or maybe due,to avariation in the thickness between the record face andthe back, which causes an excessive pressure in the high spots and a deficiency of pressure in the low spots; and, where the material is not sufficiently lastic, this. irregularityqis not compensated or, and the result is a record in which the impressions are not perfectly taken all over.

To overcome this, excessively high hydraulic pressures are required, which are ob ectionable on account of their tendency to spoil the record surface and distort the mold, as well Specification Of Letters Patent.

invention is to Patented June 19, 1917.

Application filed March a, 1911. Serial No. 613,114. a

as bein expensive because of the equipment requ1re whensuch pressures are used.

The present invention in its preferred embodiment is accomplished by making a surtain a plasticity or solid solvent ingredient,

such as one of those described in my applications Serial Nos; 496,060 and 604,982. Such products are described in my application, Serial No. 604,982 and are there termed hot plastic condensation products, that is products which in their final state will soften sufficiently by heat to readily take an impression. The preferred composition for the surface layer. is as follows:

Condensation product 100 parts by weight.

Solid solvent 15 to 40 parts by weight.

Wood flour or cotton flocks 15 to 30 parts by weight. I

While, however, I prefer to use the above composition, various other hard substances such as celluloid, cellulose acetate, and casein may be used and fall within the scope of my invention.

The record is made by taking two such surface layers or veneers, which have been previously fully hardened, insertin'gbetween them a blank of a plastic composition which will not harden by heat, and which may be different composition from the surface layers. These layers and the blank are'pressed in a heated mold where they are united and formed into arecord of desired shape, the record impression being preferably pressed into the surface of the veneer at the same time.

Compositions for the blank may be the ordinary shellac mixtures with wood pulp as a loadin material, or compositions comprising woo pulp or other filling agents and a fusible condensation product such as the well known shellac substitutes, and the substance which I term iphenol resin in my applications Serial Nos. 496,060 and 5 1:1,764, upon of entirely which UnitedStates Patents 1,102,630 and" square inch, and forms 'a backing which is yielding under the action of heat and res- "sure', so as to form a hydraulic equa 'zer of the applied pressure, so that no matter how uneven or irregular the mold surfaces may be,fthe pressure is distributed evenly on the veneer surfaces. The difference between the veneer and the blank or center portion of the record is that'the veneer becomes simply softened by heat so it ma be embossed readily, but does not have sufli cientflowing qualities to enable it to be successfully used alone, excepting under special conditions; whereas, the internal part or blank is plastic when heated and will flow readily, hardens by cooling, may be made plastic again by heating any number of times and will not harden by heating.

- The function of the fabricjn the surface layer is to reinforce the same so that the layers or veneers may be readily handled without breaking, and so that the same may not break-because of the flowing action of the internal blank while pressing. It also contributes enormously to the strength of the finished product. v

The character of the fabric is important on account of the tendency to form cranks in the surface if the fabric is too stiff and unyielding and has a different coeflicient/ of expansion and contraction from the material of the surface. Materials having such difference in coeflicient of expansion may be used'if the fabric is so chosen as to be yielding as a whole. Loosely woven cotton cloth, such as muslin, is preferable. Loose paper fabric such as filtering paper or Japanese rice paper may and the surface also be used, but they do not contribute so much to the strength of the product, as the cotton fabric. I have also found that when a condensation product is coated by rolling or pressing onto the cotton fabric inthin layers, the air.is entirely removed, which is an important advantage inrecord surfaces.

In order that my invention may be better understood, attention is directed'to, the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification and in which---;

cross section showing the blank, the fabric veneers m po'sltlon to'be molded V Fig. 2 represents a similar view, showing the same parts in the mold afterthe pressure has been applied; and

Figs. 3' and 4 represent central vertical sections of finished records of different thicknesses. In all the views corresponding parts are designated by the same" reference numerals. V I i Referring to the drawings, 1 represents the central blank, 2 and 3, the surfacethat the record impressions are formed veneers, and 4: and 5 the, fabricon which" the veneers are coated. The mold shown herein is what is termed a flash mold, that is, a mold in. whieh the excess material is forced out between the opposing parts 6 and 7 of the mold as shown at 8 mFig. 2,

-when these parts are brought together in regulating-the thicknesv of the product.

Theparts 6 and 7 of the mold are formed with matrices, 6 and' 7 respectively; so

the veneer simultaneouslyfwith the formation of the record. Asshown in Fig. 1, the plastic blank'l is of less diameter than the "finished record so that in molding the record it will readily flow and 11 the inner cavity between the veneer surfaces.

When it is desired to make a very thin [disk record the blank is made thin, but

when the pressureapplied to the 'mold is completed, the excess of thejinner material will be mostly squeezed out, leaving simply two veneer surfaces stuck together by the composition of the blank, as shown in Fig. 4. When a cylindrical record is formed, the process is exactly similar, except that the veneer and the blank are made in cylindrical form; but with a cylindrical record, itis not necessary to have the veneer upon both inside and outside surfaces, whereas on diskrecords it is necessary to put the veneer on both sides to prevent warping. a I

The present inven ion is applicable to all kinds of phonograph records and other objects which it is desired tov mold with a veneer surface.

Suitable compositions for the 7 wood flour, 50 to 100 parts, fusible condensation product, shellac or shellac sub stitute, colophony, or other binding gum, 1

The composition of the 50 to 100 parts. 0 blank may be ad]usted and may be more or less plastic to suit the; requirements of the particular veneerused. For instance,- a veneer which-requires a higher pressure blank a.

to form the impression will require a stiffer 7 plastic blank, and one which will take the impression readily at a lower pressure will p In forming a veneer of an infusible pherequire a blank which is more plastic.

nolic condensation product, the cloth or fabric is placed on a sheet of pollshed metal,-

such as tin plate, and.a blank of the unhapdened condensation product 1s placed on the same and another piece of polished metal pressure may be released, and the hardening may be done between the same hot plates which are used in distributing, or the coated muslin placed between the two metal sheets may be removed'and placed in an oven, and

there hardened at the minimum reaction temperature until it becomes infusible; and then to complete the hardening, the temperature may be raised considerably above the reaction temperature, which hastens the operation. After cooling, the metal sheets are readily detached. Another method of form-' ing the veneer is to coat the muslin on calender rolls, similar to the method of coating rubber on fabrics, hardening the same on heated drums or in'ovens, and subsequently punching out the veneer blanks from these coated sheets.

The reaction temperature for the above mentioned composition lies between 200 and 250 degrees -F., varying somewhat with the nature of the composition used.

The'fundamental principle which contributes to the success of the present invention lies in having a yielding pressure-distributing internal part and a hard surface layer. It is obvious that other materials than those mentioned might be used for both the surface layer and for the internalpart.

The plastic blankmay be pressed to the full size of the record or other object, oras stated above, it may be less than the full size, so that in the final operation it will flow and entirely fill the inner cavity between the veneer surfaces. When a very thin disk record is made, 'the' internal material is pref- ,erably' made heavy by loading with heavy powders, such as metal powders, barium sulfate, etc. This is particularly desirable where the form of cut onthe record is what is known as the up and down cut, which prevents the thin record from vibrating to such an extent as to weaken the volume of sound produced. Or the innerpart may be lead or tinfoil. i

The improved article of manufacture herein described is. claimed ina divisional application Serial No. 160,964, filed April 9, 1917.

While I have mentioned certain preferred materials for the various parts :of my improved record, various other materials may be used and my invention is limited only as defined by the terms of the appended claims. Having now described my invention. what hot, forming a blank 0 rial ada ted to become slightly softened but not su ciently plastic to flow when hot, forming a blank.of material which is sufliciently plastic to flow when hot and hard when cold, inserting said blank between saidsheets of fabric and simultaneouslv uniting said parts, molding the same into the desired shape, and forming record impressions in the outer surfaces of said veneers by heat and pressure, substantially as set forth.

2. The process of making sound records which consists in coating-a sheet of woven fabric with a veneer of a hard infusible condensation product of phenol and a substance containing the methylene radical, forming a blank of material which issufliciently plastic to flow when hotand hard when cold, and simultaneously uniting said parts molding the same into the desired shape and forming a record impression in the veneer by heat and pressure, substantially as set forth.

3. The process of making sound records which consists in coating two sheets of woven fabric with veneers of a hard infusible condensation product of phenol and a substance containing the methylene radical, forming a blank of material which is sufliciently plastic to flow when hot and hard when cold, inserting said blank between said sheets offabric, and simultaneously uniting'said parts, forming the same into the desired shape, and forming record'impressions in the outer surfaces of the veneer by heat and pressure, substantially as set forth.

l. The process of making sound records which consists in coating a sheet of woven fabric with a veneer of a) hard infusible material adapted to become slightly softened but not sufiiciently lastic to flow when f material which is sufficiently plastic to flow when hot and hard when cold, vplacing said blank in contact withsaid fabric, and uniting said arts 6. The process of making sound records or the like which consists in pressing'a heated layer of thermo plastic record composition against a sheet of fabric between polished plates, cooling said layer, and removing the same together with said fabric from said plates, substantially as set forth.

7. The process of making sound records or the {like which consists in pressing a heated layer of thermo plastic record...co'm'- position against a sheet of fabric between polished plates, cooling said layer, removing the same together with the fabric from I fabric between" said layer and backing, substantially as described.

'9. The. process of making phonograph records or the like which comprises placing a plastic layer of a composition which becomes hardened by cheinical action upon application of sufficient heat against a sheet of fabric between polished plates, heating the said layer to harden the same by chemical action, and subsequently securing said layer and fabric to a suitable backing with said fabric between said layer and backingsubstantially as described.

10. The process of making phonograph records or the likevwhic'h comprises placing a plastic layer of a composition which be comes hardened by chemical action upon application of sufficient heat against a sheet of fabric between polished plates, heating the said layer'to harden the same by chemical action, and subsequently securing said layer and fabric to a suitable backing with said fabric betweensaid layer and backing, and forming a record impression in said layer, substantially as set forth.

11. The process of making phonograph records or the like which comprises placing a plastic layerof a composition which becomes hardened by chemical action upon application of sufficient heat against a sheet of fabric between polished plates, heating the said layer to harden the same by chemical action, and subsequently securing said layer and-fabric to a thermo plastic backing with said fabric between said layer and backing substantially as described.

12. The process of making sound records or the like, which consists in rolling a heated-layer of thermo-plastic record composition against a'sheet of fabric, and subsequently securing said layer and sheet to a suitable backing with said sheetintermediate said layer andbacking, substantially as set forth.

This specification signed and witnessed this 4th day of March, 1911.

JONAS W. AYLSWORTH. Witnesses FREDERICK BAoHMAnN, ANNA R. KLEHM.

It is irereby certifiedthat in Letters Petent No. 1,230,816, granted June 19, 1917, pen 11; appljcafion of Jonas W. Aylsworth, Em Orenge, New Jereey,

for improvement 'in Methods of Maldng Phonograph-Records," an error appears in ihe prinfied specification requiring correction as follows: Page 2, line 30, for the word cranks read crz wks; aild phat the said Lot-hers Patent. kho uld be re'edwith this correc tion themin that the same may conform to the record of the case'inthe Pebentl Oflice. w I

Signed and sealed this 20th day of November, A. D., 1917.

I w R. F. WHITEHEAD,

Acting Commissioner qf'Paiq'rds.

[SEAL] 

